Tip

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Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then fry the onion until golden. Add the carrots and all but a sprinkling of thyme. Pour in the wine, 150ml water and the tomatoes, then sprinkle in the stock cubes and simmer for 10 mins. Tip in the can of lentils, including their juice, then cover and simmer for another 10 mins until the carrots still have a bit of bite and the lentils are pulpy.

Meanwhile, boil the sweet potatoes for 15 mins until tender, drain well, then mash with the butter and season to taste. Pile the lentil mixture into a pie dish, spoon the mash on top, then sprinkle over the cheese and remaining thyme. The pie can now be covered and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for up to a month.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Cook for 20 mins if cooking straight away, or for 40 mins from chilled, until golden and hot all the way through. Serve with broccoli.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments

Hmm, wet, bland, took longer to cook than advised, vegetables need to be cut to half the size suggested. You'll need 50% more sweet potato to manage anything approaching a topping. Get a real cookbook that you have to pay for - it will be an investment - your recipes might work and might even taste of something

As I was cooking for 6 people, I used two cans of tomatoes, more onion and added a can of kidney beans. It went down a treat with everyone except one, who wasn't a fan of the sweet potato! Next time I will use some normal potatoes as even though the sweet potatoes add a lovely taste, they make the meal about £1 more expensive. I also think I will used dried thyme, as it will be easier to whip up at late notice. Lovely dish, and will be enjoying again.

Amazing recipe! We're not vegetarians but fancied trying something new. You would struggle to tell there isn't meat in this and my husband and I scoffed a huge portion each. I used dried lentils so used lots more water but just added it as needed. This also meant it was cooking for about an hour before it was ready to go in the oven but this wasn't a problem. I also added some garlic, also a teaspoon of marmite for added richness and a bayleaf in with the mixture whilst is was cooking on the hob. I will be telling everyone about this recipe

I absolutely LOVE this dish. We tried it with the sweet potato (which my kids are not particularly fond of), then I tried it with a combo of sweet and regular potato and finally I tried it with just regular potato on its own. All work great, in my opinion, but my kids prefer the regular potato best. The lentils and the wine make this dish so "meaty" that I think it is the perfect meal for those that are reluctant to go without meat. Totally dee-lish!

Delicious! Having been a veggie for 13 years I'm always looking for new dishes. I read the other comments first and made these changes: added mushrooms, quorn mince, 2 cloves garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Only used a splash of water and a little bit of lentil juice. Added 1 tspn paprika to the mash. Best homemade meal I've had in ages.

Made this tonight for tea, only change i made was to add 1 clove of garlic and only 100mls water plus for 5 mins cooked uncovered when on the hob. Well my boyfriend who doesnt like his meals without meat enjoyed the whole dish and and even said that he felt healthy after eating it!! Ive worked it out to be all of your 5 a day portions when you make it for 4 people. I will def be making this again and recommend you try too. Was really tasty and easy to make!

I have so missed red wine casseroles since becoming vegetarian, but this is better than all of them combined! Oh yes. The filling is lovely and rich and contrasts well with the sweetness of the potato. I did not find it bland at all. I did alter the recipe a little - I cut the carrots smaller than suggested because they are a hard vegetable and added just enough water at the end to make sure it wouldn't dry out while cooking. It was a hit. Plus, it felt so sophisticated to be cooking with wine! I can't wait to make this again.

Just made this for dinner and me, my husband, my 3 1/2 year old AND my 10 month old ALL liked and ate it, this has never happened before. Lovely recipe, I added garlic with the onion and 100ml of water instead of 150ml, I cut the carrots really small and cooked for slightly longer, it was delicious! Will be doing this again. Also have enough for lunch tomorrow left over.

I made the same adjustments plus a bay leaf while cooking in the pan and used grated Parmesan instead of mature cheddar for topping. I also put sprigs of thyme in the mixture while cooking instead of chopping then removed it at the end, same flavour without tiny woody bits everywhere! My 3 year old loved it and it was a big hit with the meat-loving other half too. It's been a few years since I made this, why?! It's great!

We're not veggies at our house, but my husband doesn't like mince beef (WHAT?!) so I thought I'd try this veggie pie.
We absolutely loved it!!! I didn't have enough sweet potatoes in so used some normal ones for the topping too but it was still gorgeous :)

Really, really scrummy. I'm not a great cook and it turned out really well. I used about 100ml of water (rather than the 150ml suggested) as I took into account the previous comments and also that it seemed rather too liquidy. My partner, who is a confirmed carnivore and hates vegetables, really loved it but thought there were too many carrots (I personally loved the carrots - which did still have a bit of bite). Next time, I think I won't reduce the amount of carrot but chop it a bit smaller.
I'm looking forward to making this recipe again.

Not one i'd make again- I think you really need to parboil the carrots before you put them in the dish, as they felt almost raw. I also felt there was too much liquid, so the mash sank into the filling a bit too much.

So yummy! Am new to dabbling with vegetarian food. V filling. Made changes as per other's comments. Didnt add extra water just the wine. Had only few little carrots so added a tin of drained chickpeas. Added a little cinnamon and chilli powder. Also used 2 onions and 3 garlic cloves :-) To the mash I added tsp of smoked paprika. Definately going in my collection.

Absolutely delishious! Very filling and I would say it makes five-six, not four, portions easily. We used red lentils instead of green, and although it might have turned out a bit too orange, it was a fantastic meal.

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